Charles Gibson nearly fainted when he
looked down on himself to realize his barber had bitten
off his thumb because he had backed out of a $5 haircut.

"There was nothing there," he said. "The bastard just
chewed it off."

"I told him, "Look what you've done! Look what you've
done!' Then he spit it out and escaped."

Doctors were unable to reattach Gibson's right thumb.

Charles Smith (30) who gave haircuts to people in their
homes, was charged with aggravated battery shortly after
the encounter. He remained jailed in lieu of $5,000
bond.

It all began, Gibson said, because he changed his mind
about the haircut.

"I looked into his eyes. He didn't look normal," said
Gibson, 47, an unemployed nursing home chef. "He looked
all hyped up like he was high. I told him, "That's OK,
I'll get my hair cut by somebody else.' That's when he
revolted."

Gibson said Smith grabbed a straight razor from his
barber kit and demanded the $5. Gibson said he refused,
and the two began fighting. "I grabbed him to keep (him)
from hurting me," Gibson said. "When he bit down on me,
all I was thinking about was that razor. If I didn't
hold him, he would put three or four slices in my face."

"It was painful to get bit, but it was either that or
get cut by a razor," he said. "Which would be worse?"